Curing behavior and thermal properties of multifunctional epoxy resin with methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride

The curing behavior and thermal properties of bisphenol A type novolac epoxy resin (bisANER) with methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride (MHHPA) at an anhydride/epoxy group ratio of 0.85 was studied with Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetry. The results showed that the FTIR absorption intensity of anhydride and epoxide decreased during the curing reaction, and the absorption peak of ester appeared. The dynamic curing energies were determined as 48.5 and 54.1 kJ/mol with Kissinger and Flynn–Wall–Ozawa methods, respectively. DSC measurements showed that as higher is the curing temperature, higher is the glass transition. The thermal degradation of the cured bisANER/MHHPA network was identified as two steps: the breaking or detaching of ? OH, ? CH₂? , ? CH₃, OC? O and C? O? C, etc., taking place between 300 and 450°C; and the carbonizing or oxidating of aromatic rings occurring above 450°C. The kinetics of the degradation reaction was studied with Coats–Redfern method showing a first‐order process. In addition, vinyl cyclohexene dioxide (VCD) was employed as a reactive diluent for bisANER (VCD/bisANER = 1 : 2 w/w) and cured with MHHPA, and the obtained network had a higher T_g and a slight lower degradation temperature than the undiluted system. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 2041–2048, 2007     

Studies on the curing and thermal behaviour of DGEBA in the presence of bis(4‐carboxyphenyl) dimethyl silane

The curing behaviour of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol‐A (DGEBA) was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry using bis(4‐carboxyphenyl) dimethyl silane (CPA) as a crosslinking agent and imidazole as a catalyst. Two exotherms were observed in the absence of catalyst in the temperature range 166–328 °C. A significant decrease in the curing temperature was observed when 0.1% imidazole was used as catalyst. Further increase in the concentration of imidazole resulted in a decrease in the peak exotherm temperature. The effect of stoichiometry of functional groups on the curing behaviour of DGEBA was investigated by taking varying mole ratios of CPA, ranging from 1 to 2.5, keeping the concentration of imidazole as 0.1% w/w. The heat of polymerization (ΔH) was found to be maximum at a molar ratio of 1:1.75 (DGEBA:CPA). Mixtures of diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS and CPA or phthalic anhydride (PA) and CPA in ratios of 1:0, 0.25:0.75, 0.5:0.5, 0.75:0.25) were also used to investigate the curing behaviour of DGEBA. A significant decrease in curing temperature of DGEBA/DDS was observed on partially replacing DDS with CPA, whereas marginal change in the curing temperatures was observed on replacing phthalic anhydride with CPA. The thermal stability of epoxy resin, cured isothermally, was evaluated by recording thermogravimetry/dynamic thermogravimetry traces in nitrogen atmosphere. The percentage char yield was highest for the sample cured using 1.75 mole of CPA. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

The synergistic effect of dicyandiamide and resorcinol in the curing of epoxy resins

The synergistic effect of dicyandiamide (Dicy) and phenolic substances was studied, with resorcinol as a model compound. It was found that when Dicy and resorcinol are used jointly, the curing temperature of epoxy resin can be significantly lowered. FTIR and DSC data were used to illustrate the mechanism of the synergism. The addition of the phenolic hydroxyl group to epoxide was facilitated by Dicy, which favors the formation of phenoxy anions. The reaction of Dicy with epoxide was facilitated by resorcinol, which can exert “electrophilic assistance” for the addition of the amino group to epoxide. The presence of resorcinol also favors the addition of the hydroxyl group to the cyano group. The thermal and mechanical properties of the epoxy resins cured with Dicy/resorcinol or Dicy/phloroglucinol were studied. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 1869–1874, 2003     

Analysis of the cure reaction of carbon nanotubes/epoxy resin composites through thermal analysis and Raman spectroscopy

The effect of the incorporation of single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) onto a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A‐based (DGEBA) epoxy resin cure reaction was investigated by thermal analysis and Raman spectroscopy. The results of the investigation show that SWNTs act as a strong catalyst. A shift of the exothermic reaction peak to lower temperatures is, in fact, observed in the presence of SWNTs. Moreover, these effects are already noticeable at the lowest SWNT content investigated (5%) with slight further effects at higher concentrations, suggesting a saturation of the catalyzing action at the higher concentrations studied. The curves obtained under isothermal conditions confirm the results obtained in nonisothermal tests showing that the cure reaction takes less time with respect to the neat epoxy. The thermal degradation of cured DGEBA and DGEBA/SWNT composites was examined by thermogravimetry, showing a faster thermal degradation for DGEBA–SWNT composites. Raman spectroscopy was successfully applied to demonstrate that the observed changes in the cure reaction of the composites lead to a different residual strain on the SWNT bundles following a different intercalation of the epoxy matrix. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 452–458, 2003     

Activation energy and curing behavior of resol‐ and novolac‐type phenolic resins by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis

The thermal behavior, thermal degradation kinetics, and pyrolysis of resol and novolac phenolic resins with different curing conditions, as a function of the formaldehyde/phenol (F/P) molar ratio (1.3, 1.9, and 2.5 for the resol resins and 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9 for the novolac resins) were investigated. The activation energy of the thermal reaction was studied with differential scanning calorimetry at five different heating rates (2, 5, 10, 20, and 40°C/min) between 50 and 300°C. The activation energy of the thermal decomposition was investigated with thermogravimetric analysis at five different heating rates (2, 5, 10, 20, and 40°C/min) from 30 to 800°C. The low molar ratio resins exhibited a higher activation energy than the high molar ratio resins in the curing process. This meant that less heat was needed to cure the high molar ratio resins. Therefore, the higher the molar ratio was, the lower the activation energy was of the reaction. As the thermal decomposition of the resol resins proceeded, the activation energy sharply decreased at first and then remained almost constant. The activation energy of the thermal decomposition for novolac resins with F/P = 0.5 or F/P = 0.7 was almost identical in all regions, whereas that for novolac resins with F/P = 0.9 gradually decreased as the reaction proceeded. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 2589–2596, 2003     

Theoretical evaluation and the effect of thermal degradation on the Time–Temperature–Transformation (TTT) diagram of bisphenol A epoxies

A brief discussion about the Time–Temperature–Transformation (TTT) diagram is presented. Using diamino diphenylsulfone‐cured diglycidyl bisphenol A as a representative example, its TTT diagram is completed by including the thermal degradation. The theoretical diagram as obtained from the kinetics of curing and thermal degradation is compared with experimental data. The agreement is good, slight deviations are observed only in the time to vitrify above 150°C and the maximum available glass temperature, which is due to side reactions and onset of thermal degradation during curing. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 3894–3896, 2003     

Condensation–addition‐type resole resins with phenyl ethynyl functions: Synthesis,characterization, and thermal properties

Novel phenolic resins bearing methylol and phenyl ethynyl functions and curing by both condensation and addition mechanisms were synthesized by the reaction of 3‐(phenyl ethynyl) phenol (PEP) with formaldehyde under alkaline conditions. Resins with varying relative concentration of the two functional groups were synthesized and characterized. The resins underwent a two‐stage cure, confirmed by both DSC and DMA analyses. The low‐temperature cure due to methylol condensation led to early gelation of the system. The ultimate curing through addition reaction of phenylethynyl group required heating at 275°C. The cured resins exhibited better thermal stability and anaerobic char yield in comparison to a conventional resole. The thermal stability and char‐yielding property showed a diminishing trend with enhanced methylol substitution. Resin with F/P ratio less than unity offered excellent thermal stability and anaerobic char yield. The thermal degradation of the cured resins occurred in two kinetic steps. Methylene groups favored the initial degradation, whereas the higher temperature carbonization process was independent of the network structure. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 81: 3371–3377, 2001     

Synthesis of a novel lignin-based epoxy resin curing agent and study of cure kinetics,thermal, and mechanical properties

In this contribution, first of all, the methoxy groups of organic solvent lignin (OSL) was converted to phenolic hydroxyl groups through demethylation reaction for the purpose of fabricating demethylated organic solvent lignin (DOSL). In addition, the resulting DOSL was utilized as a renewable material to synthesize a novel esterified lignin (EDOSL) by reacting with isobutyryl chloride for curing of epoxy resin. Finally, commercial liquid diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A was cured by EDOSL in the presence of 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) used as a catalyst based on dual-curing mechanism. Dual curing is a processing methodology based upon the alliance of two diverse and compatible polymerization reactions occurring sequentially or simultaneously. According to the FTIR spectra and ¹H-NMR analyses, the demethylation of OSL, esterification of DOSL, and the curing reaction of epoxy resin with EDOSL were successfully conducted. The value of the phenolic hydrogen in the DOSL was approximately 4.89 mmol/g, which increased by 12.64% after demethylation. The thermal and mechanical performances of these cured epoxy samples were measured by DSC, DMA, TGA, and tensile testing. The epoxy system cured by 10%wt esterified lignin with 1%wt DMAP possessed the tensile strength of 71.54 ± 7.50 MPa and the initial degradation temperature (T_5%) of 370°C, which can compete fairly with commercial aromatic curing agents or other lignin-based agents studied currently for the curing of epoxy systems.     

Curing behavior of a novolac‐type phenolic resin analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry

Curing of a novolac‐type phenolic resin was studied by DSC. The kinetic analysis was performed by means of the dynamic Ozawa method at heating rates of 5, 10, 15, and 20°C/min. This analysis was used to determine the kinetic parameters of the curing process. The activation energy was found to be 144 kJ/mol. It was found that the Ozawa exponent values decreased with increasing reaction temperature from 3.5 to 1, suggesting a change in the reaction mechanism from microgel growth to diffusion‐controlled reaction. The reaction rate constant was found to range from 123.0 to 33.6 (°C/min)ⁿ. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 1678–1682, 2003     

Curing process of powdered phenol–formaldehyde resol resins and the role of water in the curing systems

The curing behavior of two kinds of commercial powdered resol phenolic resins was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. Liquid‐state ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy was used to aid in understanding the curing behavior by detecting the structure of powdered resins. The reaction mechanism was interpreted with the dependency of activation energy on the degree of conversion. The results indicate that there are differences in the curing mechanism between core and face phenolic resins. The curing process of core resin was faster than that of face resin at the same reaction temperature. The water added in the curing system played an important role of plasticizer or diluent according to different curing stages and water content. In the initial curing stage, water mainly diluted the system and retarded the curing reactions. However, at the higher degrees of conversion, water played the role of plasticizer to decrease the effect of diffusion on the curing reactions to make the curing reactions more complete. The excess water added in the curing system played the role of diluent at almost all stages during the curing process. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 1371–1378, 2003     

Studies on the silicone resins cured with polymethylsilazanes at ambient temperature

Polymethylsilazanes (PMS) were synthesized and used to cure silicone resins at ambient temperature. The curing degree of the silicone resins depends on the structure of PMS and its concentration in the resin. Silicone resins of different structure and different silanol content can be cured to a satisfactory degree, if the concentration of the PMS is high enough. Silicone resins cured with PMS showed improved thermal stability in nitrogen, compared with that of the heat‐cured counterparts. The mechanism of thermal decomposition of the silicone resins is discussed. The improvement of heat resistance using PMS as the curing agent is accounted for by diminished thermal rearrangement and degradation of the polysiloxane network initiated by silanol groups in the resins. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, J Appl Polym Sci 89: 1702–1707, 2003     

Non-isothermal kinetics of thermal degradation of DGEBA/TU-DETA epoxy system

A curing agent Thiourea-diethylenetriamine (TU-DETA) was successfully prepared with its structure characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrum and nuclear magnetic resonance (¹³C-NMR spectrum). The curing agent TU-DETA contained incompletely reacted material diethylenetriamine (DETA) and the polymerization degree (n) of TU-DETA was equaled to either 1 or 3 according to liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. Kinetics of thermal degradation of DGEBA (diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A)/TU-DETA epoxy system was investigated with thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) under non-isothermal conditions with heating rates of 5, 10, 12.5, 15, and 20?°C/min. The derivative thermogravimetry curves of DGEBA/TU-DETA epoxy system revealed that the thermal degradation process was only a single weight-loss step. The apparent average activation energy calculated with the Flynn–Wall–Ozawa method was 140.4?kJ/mol. With a combination of the Coats–Redfern and Phadnis–Deshpande methods, it was showed that the most probable mechanism of degradation process of the cured epoxy resin was F1 deceleration type.     

Study of the isothermal curing of an epoxy prepreg by near‐infrared spectroscopy

The commercial epoxy prepreg SPX 8800, containing diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A, dicyanodiamide, diuron, and reinforcing glass fibers, was isothermally cured at different temperatures from 75 to 110°C and monitored via in situ near‐infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. Two cure conditions were investigated: curing the epoxy prepreg directly (condition 1) and curing the epoxy prepreg between two glass plates (condition 2). Under both curing conditions, the epoxy group could not reach 100% conversion with curing at low temperatures (75–80°C) for 24 h. A comparison of the changes in the epoxy, primary amine, and hydroxyl groups during the curing showed that the samples cured under condition 2 had lower initial epoxy conversion rates than those cured under condition 1 and that more primary amine–epoxy addition occurred under condition 2. In addition, the activation energy under cure condition 2 (104–97 kJ/mol) was higher than that under condition 1 (93–86 kJ/mol), but a lower glass‐transition temperature of the cured samples was observed via differential scanning calorimetry. The moisture in the prepreg was assumed to account for the different reaction kinetics observed and to have led to different reaction mechanisms. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 2295–2305, 2003     

Preparation and characterization of siliconized epoxy‐1,2‐bis(maleimido)ethane intercrosslinked matrix materials

Novel intercrosslinked networks of siliconized epoxy‐1,2‐bis(maleimido)ethane matrix systems are developed. The siliconization of epoxy resin is carried out by using 5–15% hydroxyl‐terminated poly(dimethylsiloxane) with γ‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane as a crosslinking agent and dibutyltin dilaurate as a catalyst. The siliconized epoxy systems are further modified with 5–15% 1,2‐bis(maleimido)ethane and cured by using diaminodiphenylmethane. The prepared neat resin castings are characterized for their mechanical properties. Mechanical studies indicate that the introduction of siloxane into these epoxy resins improves the toughness with a reduction in the stress–strain values, whereas incorporation of bismaleimide (BMI) into the epoxy resin improves the stress–strain properties with a lowering of the toughness. The introduction of both siloxane and BMI into the epoxy resin influences the mechanical properties according to their content percentages. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry, and heat distortion temperature analyses are also carried out to assess the thermal behavior of the matrix materials that are developed. DSC thermograms of the BMI modified epoxy systems show unimodal reaction exotherms. The glass‐transition temperature, thermal degradation temperature, and heat distortion temperature of the cured BMI modified epoxy and siliconized epoxy systems increase with increasing BMI content. The water absorption behavior of the matrix materials is also studied. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 3808–3817, 2003     

Synthesis and characterization of epoxy film cured with phosphorous‐containing phenolic resin

Through the electrophilic addition reaction of ? P(O)? H and C?C, a series of novel phosphorus‐containing phenolic resins bearing maleimide (P‐PMFs) were synthesized and used as curing agent for preparing high performance and flame retardancy epoxy resins. The structure of the resin was confirmed with FTIR and elemental analysis. Thermal properties and thermal degradation behaviors of the thermosetted resin was investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The epoxy resins exhibited high glass transition temperature (143–156°C), goof thermal stability (>330°C) and retardation on thermal degradation rates. High char yields (700°C, 52.9%) and high limited oxygen indices (30.6–34.8) were observed, indicating the resins' good flame retardance for the P‐PMFs/CNE cured resins. The developed resin may be used potentially as environmentally preferable products in electronic fields. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 3813–3817, 2007     

Effects of peroxide and phenolic cure systems on characteristics of the filled ethylene–propylene–diene monomer rubber (EPDM)

The effects of three curing systems, peroxide, peroxide–phenolic combination, and phenolic on selected properties of cured carbon black‐filled ethylene–propylene–diene monomer rubber (EPDM) were investigated. The cured rubbers immersed in hot amine solution to evaluate their suitability for seal and gasket industry at elevated temperature and amine environments. These tests were essential for evaluating the durability of the gasket in a gas refinery. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectrums revealed that the phenolic crosslink was constructed between rubber macromolecules during the curing process. The changing curing system from peroxide to peroxide–phenolic and phenolic increased the glass transition temperature of the filled cured rubbers between 3 and 5 °C. There was not any significant difference between thermogravimetric analysis thermographs of the selected cured rubbers with various cure systems and the residues ranged between 45% and 47%. Unlike of peroxide curing system, a dual phase was observed from scanning electron microscopy micrographs for peroxide–phenolic and phenolic cure systems. The phenolic cure system was not beneficial for rubber curing although, it reduced scorch time of the curing process. For the most studied mechanical properties, phenolic cure system deteriorated mechanical properties for both, aged and unaged cured rubbers. Increasing the amount of diene monomer in EPDM structure was beneficial for phenolic rubber cure system. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46213.     

Improvement of the oxidation resistance of silicon-containing arylacetylene resins upon the introduction of carbazoles

Silicon-containing arylacetylene resins (PSAs) can be used in high temperature environment due to their excellent thermal stability. However, their high temperature oxidation is still bottle-neck for further application. Herein, Materials Genome Initiative (MGI) was utilized to identify a target monomer, 3,6-diethynylcarbazole (DEC), to design new PSAs with enhanced antioxidant properties and heat resistance. After incorporation of DEC, the thermal curing behavior observed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed that obtained silicon-containing carbazolylacetylene resins (PSA-VBC) can exhibit hydroamination reaction to decrease the initial curing temperature. And the temperature at 5% weight loss (T_d5) occurred in cured copolymers ranged from 665°C to 691°C, which showed excellent heat resistance. Moreover, the oxidation behavior of cured resins was investigated by thermogravimetric/derivative thermogravimetry (TG/DTG), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Upon the incorporation of DEC, the thermal oxidation decomposition temperature of PSA-VBC were 100°C higher than those observed for PSAs, which also proved by XPS analysis results that the oxygen content of PSA-VBC solidified oxide was lower than that of PSAs. In addition, the surface morphology of cured PSA-VBC resins still maintained integrity after oxidation at 400°C for 2 hr, which showed excellent oxidation resistance.     

A phosphorus‐containing diamine for flame‐retardant,high‐functionality epoxy resins. I. Synthesis,reactivity, and thermal degradation properties

A phosphorus‐containing amine, bis(4‐aminophenoxy)phenyl phosphine oxide (BAPP), suitable for curing epoxy resins with improved fire performance was synthesized and characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance. The reactivity of the amino group was evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry of the epoxy–amine mixture and by proton nuclear magnetic resonance of the amino unit. With BAPP as a curing agent, a range of high‐functionality, aerospace epoxy resins were cured, and the dynamic kinetic parameters calculated from Kissinger's and Ozawa's models were compared with those from the more widely used amines. The thermal degradation properties of the phosphorus‐containing epoxy resins were studied by thermogravimetric analysis, the degradation activation energy was calculated, and a multistep thermal degradation process was observed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 2093–2100, 2004     

Engineering biomass into formaldehyde‐free phenolic resin for composite materials

The use of formaldehyde to prepare phenol‐formaldehyde (PF) resins is one of the primary challenges for the world‐wide PF industry with respect to both sustainability and human health. This study reports a novel one‐pot synthesis process for phenol‐5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (PHMF) resin as a formaldehyde‐free phenolic resin using phenol and glucose, and the curing of the phenolic resin with a green curing agent organosolv lignin (OL) or Kraft lignin (KL). Evidenced by ¹³C NMR, the curing mechanism involves alkylation reaction between the hydoxyalkyl groups of lignin and the ortho‐ and para‐carbon of PHMF phenolic hydroxyl group. The curing kinetics was studied using differential scanning calorimetry and the kinetic parameters were obtained. The OL/KL cured PHMF resins were tested in terms of thermal stability, and mechanical properties for their applications in fiberglass reinforced composite materials. The results obtained demonstrated that OL/KL can be promising curing agents for the PHMF resins. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 1275–1283, 2015     

Silicon-containing fluorenylacetylene resins with low curing temperature and high thermal stability

Silicon-containing arylacetylene resins (PSAs) are promising thermal stability polymers for many applications. However, the controllability of curing reaction limited their application because of the high curing temperature and enthalpy. In this study, Materials Genome Initiative was utilized to screen out a target monomer, 2,7-diethynyl-9H-fluorene (DEF), for design of new PSAs with low curing temperature and enthalpy. After incorporation of DEF, the obtained silicon-containing fluorenylacetylene resins (PSA-VBF) could be cured at a lower temperature of 149.2 °C with lower enthalpy (239.8 J g⁻¹) than the reported PSA-V (190.0 °C, 368.3 J g⁻¹). Moreover, the thermal curing behavior and mechanism were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared, and pyrolysis-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The results revealed that with the increased of DEF, the curing reaction of PSA-VBF became dominated by Diels–Alder reaction. And the formed aromatic fused rings endowed the cured PSA-VBF with excellent thermal stability, which were proved by thermogravimetric analysis results that the temperature at 5% weight loss (T_d5) of the cured copolymers ranged from 630 to 639 °C, and the char yield at 1000 °C was above 90%. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 48262.